Marilyn Z. Tomlins

Die in Paris

A spring night in Paris. Suddenly the night's stillness is shattered by sirens and excited voices. For days foul smoke has been pouring from the chimney of an uninhabited house close to the Avenue des Champs-Elysées. Police and fire fighters race to the house to break down the bolted door. They make a spine-chilling discovery. The remains of countless human beings are being incinerated in a furnace in the basement. In a pit in an outhouse quicklime consumes still more bodies. Neighbors say they hear banging, pleading, sobbing and cries for help come from inside the house deep at night. They say a shabbily-dressed man on a green bike pulling a cart behind him comes to the house, always at dawn, or dusk.

The house belongs to Dr. Marcel Petiot - a good-looking, charming, caring, family physician who lives elsewhere in the city with his wife and teenage son. Is he the shabbily-dressed man on the green bike? If so, what has he to say about the bodies?

Marilyn Z.Tomlins is a freelance journalist. She lives and works in Paris, France.

Cormatin – Taizé – Cluny GB is Cees van Halderen’s blog about his life in Burgundy.

Now, back in the midsts of time (well, actually, back in February 2010), I reviewed Cees’ wife’s blog (also, and totally unsurprisingly, about life in Burgundy) – you can read my review here… Life in Burgundy.

Not wanting to cause any arguments over the tea table, I thought it might be an idea to review Cees’ blog as well.

Did you know that Gluttony is my favourite sin?

Like all the best Life in France blogs, this one contains a treatise on Frogs Legs. Some fine detailed investigative journalism has gone into that article – mixed with just the right amount of gluttony!

And did you know that the Dutch call them frog bottoms? No, me neither!

Finding me in France – Welcome to the story of an ordinary person seeking an extraordinary life. I’m Bobbi French and I have made a bold decision, some say I’m brave, some say I have lost my mind. I say that after years of medical training followed by years of tireless and devoted service to public Psychiatry it’s time for a change. So in the tradition of ‘go big or go home’ I have sold my house, car, possessions (I kept my husband) and with very little cash and very little French to speak with I’m moving to France to find a new career and a new life. I am leaving everything I know to for once have an adventure. Walking away or walking towards? Give the post titled Grace a read, join me on the journey

Francophillia – Ellen – I am currently spending the semester in Dijon, France, studying the language, culture, art, and history (and of course food and fashion) of France!

Future Perfect – Teaching English to high school students while trying to navigate a foreign culture and bureaucracy – Vive La France!

Life in Burgundy is Sue’s blog about her life in Cormatin in Burgundy. Sue worked for a multi-national company for many years before moving to Burgundy in 2005 with her husband Cees.

They find that they have a slower but richer pace of life now although they run two gîtes and a very small campsite.

Sue blogs about many things but often comes back to what she admits is one of her favourite subjects – food. She loves trying out all regional dishes and writes well about them on Life in Burgundy.

For some tasty examples, take a look at… Boeuf Bourgignon or Chicken in Cream and then finish off with some Mulled Wine on a Sunday Afternoon.

Life in France by Susan Veeser Klein – My husband, Keith, and I moved to France June 2001(from Minnesota). Since that time I have written journals for family and friends describing our life here in France. I found this Blog that I can now use to post my journals and photos. We live in Gevrey-Chambertin.

The Grape Journal – I’m a 37 year old Canadian who met my French husband France in the cafés of Beaune, France at the tender age of 18. Many years later we have built up a network of four lovely vacation rentals in the vineyards of Burgundy called “Grape Rentals” as well as a family of three Franco-Canuck daughters, Charlotte, Camille, and Clémentine – collectively known as “The Bevy”. We try to live as much as we can between France and Victoria, Canada (where I’m from). I love homemade food, French wine, old friends and black chocolate. I am a ridiculously slow but stubborn runner and I am also picking away at the story of how my Very French Husband and I came to buy and renovate our first house in Burgundy for the education and edification of the Bevy.

The Old Cafe – This blog is my escape from the huge renovation project we are undertaking in Burgundy France. I enter our progress each month on our website, but I wanted somewhere I could share my trivial thoughts that are not relevant for the website.

The Really Big Dream Blog is Burgundy Dreamer’s blog. The blog starts in October 2009 with the words… “Today marks the day I join the 21st century, I am now a blogger!”

Burgundy Dreamer goes on to explain that… “Once upon a time there was a girl (sorry, still can’t always see myself as a woman) and a dream. The dream was to live in Burgundy in a beautiful house in a beautiful location and run an activity centre surrounded by enthusiastic and happy people.”

Well, it seems that the house and location chose her in 2007 and the rest of it is beginning to take shape now. And Burgundy Dreamer has to keep pinching herself to make sure that this is all real. Life is good!

Indeed it is!

In fact, the only thing that could make life better is a few mushrooms and a handful of nice chewy snails!

Visit Guédelon – At Guédelon, a castle fortress is being built using 13th century techniques and materials. This unique ‘hands on history’ construction site is nestled in Burgundy, France. This blog documents the building progression and is embellished with juicy historic

If you know of any other blogs from English speaking expats living in Burgundy, please let me know and I’ll add them to this page.

And if you decide to visit any of the blogs shown on this page, why not leave a comment and say hello? It can sometimes be a lonely business (or, rather, hobby) being a blogger and an unexpected comment or email can really put a sparkle on the day!